Saint Brendan’s Irish Cream Cupcakes

For St. Patrick’s Day this year, I baked some Saint Brendan’s Irish Cream Cupcakes. I originally got the recipe from Easy Baked (found on Pinterest) and I modified her recipe. She used Bailey’s Irish Cream, but I chose to use Saint Brendan’s instead because it is cheaper and the preferred Irish cream for the group of people I made the cupcakes for.

Ingredients: (makes 24 cupcakes)

Cupcakes:

• 2 1/2 cups cake flour
• 3 teaspoons of baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 1 teaspoon of cinnamon
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 3/4 cups unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3 eggs, room temperature
• 3 teaspoons of vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup Saint Brendan’s Irish Cream (an additional desired amount can be used to pour over the cakes after they have been baked)

Buttercream Frosting: (halved Easy Baked’s recipe)

• 1 stick (half cup) salted butter, room temperature
• 1 stick (half cup) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
• 1/4 cup Saint Brendan’s Irish Cream

Chocolate Ganache (to drizzle over frosting)

• 1/4 cup of heavy cream
• 1/2 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips (I love using Ghirardelli chocolate)

Directions:

Cupcakes:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin tins with 24 cupcake liners
• In a large bowl, mix together the dry ingredients: cake flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon
• In a large bowl, use a mixer to cream together the sugar and butter for about 3 minutes until it is light and fluffy (creaming the butter and sugar together has always been a yummy pastime treat for me since I was younger)
• Add the three eggs, one at a time, until incorporated. Then add the vanilla extract
• Add the dry ingredient mixture to the large bowl, alternating with the Irish Cream.
• Fill the cupcake liners about 2/3 full and bake for 17-20 minutes (I usually choose a time in the middle, so I baked mine for 18 minutes)
• Cool in pan for a few minutes
• Using a toothpick or fork, poke holes in the tops of the cupcakes. Use a pastry dish to brush additional desired amount of Irish Cream over the cupcakes

Saint Brendan’s Buttercream Frosting:

• Mix together the butters, powdered sugar, and cinnamon in a large bowl
• Beat on high until light and fluffy
• Add Saint Brendan’s Irish Cream in small amounts until buttercream is at desired flavor and consistency
• Frost cooled cupcakes using a pastry bag (I used a sandwich ziplock bag with a small corner cut out)

Chocolate Ganache:

• In a saucepan, bring the heavy cream to simmer over medium heat
• Remove from heat and whisk in chocolate chips until it is melted
• Drizzle on top of cupcake frosting

Enjoy!